Major League Soccer suspended Dynamo midfielder Colin Clark for three games with pay and fined him an undisclosed amount Wednesday for uttering a gay slur at a ball boy during the Dynamo's loss Friday at Seattle.

Five days after Clark screamed at a ball boy who refused to toss him a ball at CenturyLink Field, he became the latest professional athlete - and the first in MLS - to be fined for using a homophobic slur. Although he is believed to be the first player a major American sports league has suspended for making a gay slur, he is actually the second Houston pro athlete to earn such a suspension in the last two months.

Last month, the NHL's Minnesota Wild suspended Aeros forward Justin Fontaine for two games after he used a gay slur on Twitter. A few days later, the Texans' Rashad Butler tweeted out the same slur Fontaine and Clark used.

"Major League Soccer will not tolerate this type of behavior from its players or staff at any time, under any circumstances," MLS commissioner Don Garber said. "Colin Clark has expressed sincere remorse for his actions, and I believe that he will learn from this incident."

Clark, who must also attend sensitivity and diversity training as part of his punishment, apologized for his comments Saturday via his Twitter account and again Wednesday.

"First of all, I want to apologize for what I did during the Seattle match," he said. "I had a chance to speak to the ball boy after the game. I'm sorry to everyone who I offended with that term. I intend to never use that word again in any context. There's absolutely no excuse for using that word.

"What I said doesn't represent me. It was out of character and out of line. I made a huge mistake by using those words, and I truly regret that."

Last April, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was fined $100,000 for uttering a homophobic slur upon receiving a technical foul. A month later, the NBA fined Joakim Noah $50,000 for a similar vulgarity uttered during the Eastern Conference finals.

"I think it shows times have changed and that homophobia is no longer cool," said Jim Buzinski, the co-founder of gay sports website Outsports.com. "It exists, but people are called on it, and there are consequences."

The NBA also aired public service announcements imploring the public to stop using anti-gay slurs. MLS, however, has not curbed or even spoken out against the tradition of fans screaming a vulgar Spanish gay slur each time the opposing goalkeeper takes a goal kick. A group of Dynamo supporters has embraced the tradition, which originated in Mexico and is common at many MLS stadiums.

"With what the league has handed down," Clark said, "I accept the punishment from the league and intend to turn this negative into a positive, and I look forward to moving beyond this incident."